1. Who is guilty for the inherent failings in
candidate assessment techniques?
Chris Rowlands, HR Directors Business Summit 2016
2. “the recruitment process relies on human
decisions...and our decision-making is much
more prone to sloppy thinking and bias than
we would like to believe”
Jonny Gifford
CIPD Research Report: “ A head for hiring”, 2015
Chris Rowlands, HR Directors Business Summit 2016
3. Bratton & Gold:
“Selection is the process by which
managers and others use specific
instruments to choose from a pool of
applicants a person or persons
more likely to succeed in the job(s)”
Chris Rowlands, HR Directors Business Summit 2016
Bratton & Gold:
“Selection is the process by which
managers and others use specific
instruments to choose from a pool of
applicants a person or persons
more likely to succeed in the job(s)”
4. “Predictive Validity”
or
How well a test actually measures what it
intends to measure
Chris Rowlands, HR Directors Business Summit 2016
5. Is 50%/60%/70% acceptable? Why bridge the gap?
Cost of re-hire (£4k-£10k)
Chris Rowlands, HR Directors Business Summit 2016
Morale
Capacity: impact on team performance
Missed opportunity: cultural and organisational diversity
Customer dissatisfaction
Commercial downtime
Hiring managers become risk averse
External perception: candidate pool
6. “...and our decision-making is much more
prone to sloppy thinking and bias than we
would like to believe”
Chris Rowlands, HR Directors Business Summit 2016
“...take a more robust, evidence-based approach.
Doing so will help ensure you really are hiring the
best”
7. “Traditional” recruitment and assessment
methods have hard-wired, systematic biases
Chris Rowlands, HR Directors Business Summit 2016
• “Cloning” (specification)
• Gender bias (CV)
• Ethnicity bias (CV)
• Relationship bias (CV & interview)
• Confirmation bias (interview)
• Social desirability bias (interview)
• Status quo bias (decision-making)
• Cognitive load: “strain on your
brain” (decision-making)
• DM competence (throughout)
8. KEY PREDICTORS OF PERFORMANCE
Chris Rowlands, HR Directors Business Summit 2016
9. Gender/Ethnicity Bias
• Anonymise CVs
• Group CVs
• Review simultaneously and/or side-by-side
• Use objective measures
Chris Rowlands, HR Directors Business Summit 2016
10. Interviewing
• CHALLENGE = very low “predictive power”
• Information gathering rather than decision-making
• Suitable design (fit for purpose)
• Structured interviews – commit to “job performance” only
Chris Rowlands, HR Directors Business Summit 2016
11. Testing
• Personality traits ARE predictive of job performance
• Work sample testing
• “Values”-based measurement / cultural fit
Chris Rowlands, HR Directors Business Summit 2016
12. Decision-making
• CHALLENGE – Synthesis of complex data
• Resolve to stick to what the data/data scoring tells you
• Involve people not involved in the Assessment process
• Give appropriate time: avoid “decision fatigue” and
commercial pressures
Chris Rowlands, HR Directors Business Summit 2016
14. Network HR i-intro
• Comparative (anonymised) profiles
• Psychometric Profiling
• Aptitudinal Tests e.g. verbal, numerical
• Behavioural/Personality Profiling (against Job Profile and/or Company Values)
• Task-based Assessments
• Competency-based Q&A
• Video Interviewing / Video Profiles
• Social Media Profiling
• Interview Guidelines, based on Job Specification and Performance Measures
• 360 Referencing, based on Performance Measures
• Stakeholder forum
• Authorisation process for decision-making
